Peak wasp season: Elyria man sent to emergency room after attack

ELYRIA — As the heat of summer wanes into fall, entomologists are warning that wasps are becoming more aggressive as their nests grow and they need more food. One local man learned this the hard way. Gary Thibo, of Elyria, said he had to be transported to the emergency room last Wednesday after being ambushed by a swarm of yellow jackets. Thibo, who also owns a house in Oberlin, was doing yard work with his wife at that property. He knew there was a nest in the yard but wasn't especially worried about being bitten or stung. "I was putting rocks by where the nest was," he said. "Evidently I poured them on top of the nest and made them super mad." Thibo said a "swarm" emerged from the nest, which appeared to be just a hole in the ground. He was stung around 10 times in both wrists, his hand and the top of his spine. Sensing the onset of an allergic reaction, Thibo went to the Oberlin Discount Drug Mart to purchase Benadryl when the allergic reaction set in, causing him to collapse and begin vomiting. He was transported by ambulance to the hospital, where he was treated and released. "(Wasps) become more aggressive and problematic in late summer and fall," said Denise Ellsworth, the program director of pollinator education at Ohio State University. She said yellow jackets — wasps — start appearing in the spring, building up a colony underground where they raise their young. They typically emerge from a single hole in the ground, unlike the solitary and less aggressive ground bees. "It's like us living in a condo complex," she said. The difference between wasps and bees is their food source. Wasps eat insects and spiders for protein, while bees use pollen. Bees also tend to be hairy, while wasps are not. By this time of year, the yellow jacket colony is full of worker wasps that are hungry and in need of a sugary diet. This causes their behavior to become more aggressive. Ellsworth encouraged homeowners who find a nest on their property at this time of year to just leave it alone, as most of the wasps will die by the end of December and the queen will start a new colony somewhere else next year. "If someone discovers a nest, this time of year, it's been there all summer," she said. Thibo did have the nest removed from his property, but he said the incident made him more wary of the wasps and made him more grateful for the people who helped him after the attack. "It was more than a humbling experience," he said. Contact Dylan Reynolds at (440) 329-7123 or dreynolds@chroniclet.com.